Mumbai Pav Bhaji (Authentic, Street Style Recipe)

Mumbai pav bhaji or Bombay pav bhaji is an extremely popular Indian street food. Made with mixed vegetables, onions, tomatoes and spices and served with buttered dinner rolls, it is out-of-this world delish and totally addictive! Instant pot and stovetop methods included.

Check out this collection of 30+ Indian vegetarian recipes, all made in the instant pot!

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAVE THIS POST?

Enter your email to get this post directly in your inbox. Plus, get subscribed to the Indian Ambrosia newsletter!

Psst...we will also send you a FREE eCookbook: INDIAN DINNER PARTY MENU as a thank you for signing up!

About Pav Bhaji

Hit by the urge to snack on something savory and spicy? Make pav bhaji!

Pav bhaji is a much loved snack sold on the streets of Mumbai, India. I still miss digging into platefuls of this hot, spicy curry prepared right by the roadside in a make-shift stall. I just have to close my eyes, and I can see the vendor frying the veggies and flipping the buns on a sizzling tawa (griddle). Therefore, it gladdens my heart no end that I can re-create the same taste and flavors in my kitchen in Canada!

It doesn't take a ton of effort or expertise to make this street style pav bhaji at home, especially when you make it in your pressure cooker or instant pot. It comes together in 3 easy steps:

• Make the pav bhaji masala.
• Make the curry base, adding the pav bhaji masala to it.
• Halve the dinner rolls and toast them in butter until crisp.

Another recipe that has assorted vegetables is this mixed vegetable curry. It's a dry sabzi that tastes delicious with Indian breads like roti or chapati. Do check it out. 

Why this recipe works

• It is an easy, one-pot dish when made in your pressure cooker or instant pot.
• The oodles of butter in the recipe gives it an authentic street style flavor that is so good
• You can cut short the preparation by adding Everest pav bhaji masala instead of making the masala from scratch.
• It is customizable. You can have it with dinner rolls, sliced bread or naan.

Pav Bhaji Masala (Ingredients + Method)

A word before I share how to make pav bhaji masala from scratch. You can easily buy some ready-made masala from any Indian store in your neighbourhood instead of making the pav bhaji masala. Everest is a good brand that I use sometimes. Two tablespoons of this pre-made spice blend usually suffices.

However, when I'm not in a rush, I prefer to make pav bhaji with homemade masala. The ingredients are fresh, and you can put it together in three minutes flat! I have used my homemade masala in this recipe and not the store-bought masala.

Method: Put the whole spices in a dry grinder and whiz to get a fine powder, then mix in the powdered spices. And that's all there is to it!

Curry Ingredients + Cooking

Instant Pot Instructions

When made in the instant pot, pav bhaji is a simple one-pot affair. Here's a step-by-step breakdown.

Step 1: Switch the instant pot to sauté and the oil, followed by the butter. Add onions and fry until translucent (3 minutes).

Step 2: Tip in the ginger-garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes on medium heat. Add the tomatoes, pav bhaji masala, and salt and cook until the tomatoes break down. Add a little water if the curry becomes too dry (5 minutes).

Step 3: Add the chopped vegetables and one cup water. Cancel the sauté mode pressure cook for 12 minutes. When you open the pot, the veggies should be well-cooked with some liquid. Like so:

Step 4: If there is a lot of liquid, press sauté again and cook for a few minutes more, mashing the vegetables with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. You'll find that this is very easy to do since the veggies are very soft and well-cooked (5 minutes).

Note: You can also use an immersion blender (affiliate link) if you have one. I find it very easy to stick this in the instant pot and blend the contents lightly. Don't blend completely though since you don't want a paste. You do want some texture left in there.

Step 5: Sprinkle some lemon juice and chopped cilantro on the bhaji and add a few dollops of butter.

Note: If making this recipe in a conventional stovetop pressure cooker, follow the exact same steps as outlined above. Pressure cook for two whistles on high heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the hob and let the steam release naturally. 

If you like using your instant pot for making curries, do check out this collection of instant pot curries, with vegetarian options. 

Stovetop Instructions

Step 1: Chop the vegetables and cook them in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. When the veggies are soft, mash them lightly with a fork or use an immersion blender to make a thick textured mash.

Step 2: Fry the onions in butter until translucent (3 minutes).

Step 3: Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté (2 minutes).

Step 4: Add the tomatoes, pav bhaji masala powder and salt. Cook until the tomatoes break down and are soft (5 minutes).

Step 5: Add the mashed vegetables and cook again until they are well-mixed into the curry base (5 minutes).

Step 6: Squeeze some lemon juice into the bhaji and garnish with chopped cilantro and dollops of butter.

Preparing the Dinner Rolls

1. Slice the dinner rolls and spread butter on the halves. Place the rolls buttered side down on a hot fry pan and remove when slightly browned and crisp. Repeat for all the rolls.

Serve the pav bhaji with warm dinner rolls for a complete meal.

Easy Serving Ideas

1. Pav bhaji sliders: Place some bhaji between two halves of a buttered and fried dinner roll, top it with onion rings and have it hamburger style. This is so convenient that I find myself having it this way more often than not.

2. For leftover bhaji

• Bhaji rolls: Spread some bhaji on a tortilla or naan and roll it up.
• Bhaji and rice: Mix the bhaji with rice and a little dal (lentils) for a complete meal.
• Bhaji sandwich: Place some bhaji on a slice of bread, cover with another slice and stick it in a sandwich maker or a panini press for a hot, toasted bhaji sandwich.

3. Get creative

My kids love cheese pav bhaji, and so would yours, I bet. Spread some hot bhaji on one half of a dinner roll and top with some shredded cheddar cheese or a cheese slice while it is still hot. Close with the other half of the dinner roll and dig in!

Other vegetable curries you might like

• Baghare Baingan - A tangy eggplant curry with coconut, sesame, peanuts, and tamarind.
• Okra Curry - Also known as bhindi masala, this one has lots of onions, tomatoes and powdered spices.
• Lauki Chana Dal - A tasty bottle gourd and lentils curry made in the instant pot.
• Aloo Curry - A simple vegan potato curry that taste terrific with poori. 
• Vegetable Korma - mixed vegetables in a sauce made creamy with cashews and coconut milk. 
• Punjabi Kadhi - Vegetable fritters in a tangy yogurt sauce.

📖 Recipe

Mumbai Pav Bhaji Recipe

Saima Zaidi

Mumbai pav bhaji is an extremely popular Indian street food. Made with mixed vegetables, onions, tomatoes and spices and served with buttered dinner rolls, it is out-of-this world delish and totally addictive!

5 from 14 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Snack

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Calories 280.1 kcal

Equipment

• 6-quart Instant Pot Duo OR a saucepan
• Medium frypan (if making stovetop pav bhaji)

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Pav bhaji masala ingredients

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 5 whole cloves
• 2 black cardamom peeled
• 15 black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon mango powder or amchur
• 1 teaspoon black salt

Other ingredients

• 2 cup cauliflower florets
• 1 cup peas
• 2 cup potatoes peeled and diced
• 2 cup carrot diced
• 1 big onion sliced fine
• 1 big tomato chopped
• 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
• ⅓ cup butter
• ½ lemon
• 1 sprig fresh cilantro leaves chopped
• extra butter for topping
• salt to taste
• 8-10 dinner rolls

Instructions

 

Preparation

• Dice the vegetables (cauliflower, carrot and potato) into small pieces and keep aside.
• Make the pav bhaji masala - put the whole spices in a grinder and grind to a fine powder. Mix in the powdered spices. If using Everest pav bhaji masala, skip this step.

Instant Pot Method

• Switch the instant pot to saute mode and melt the butter. Add onions and fry until translucent (3 minutes).
• Tip in the ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes, pav bhaji masala powder and salt. Saute until the tomatoes break down. Add a little water if masala becomes too dry (5 minutes).
• Add the vegetables (chopped) and one cup water. Cancel the saute mode and switch on the manual (pressure cooking) mode. Make sure the vent is sealed and set the timer to 10 minutes. After the timer goes, do a quick pressure release after 10 minutes (25 minutes including the time the cooker takes to build pressure).
• Open the cooker and turn on the saute mode again. If there is excess liquid, cook for 5 minutes more, mashing the vegetables with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. You'll find that this is very easy to do since the veggies are very soft and well-cooked (5 minutes).

Stovetop Method

• Put the cauliflower, peas, potatoes and carrot  in a saucepan along with 3 cups of water. Cook until the veggies are very soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove the saucepan from the hob and let it cool down a bit. Mash the vegetables lightly with a fork. Don't throw away the excess water, if any.
• Put the butter in a pan and heat it. When the butter melts, add the onion and fry until translucent.
• Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes on medium heat.
• Add the tomatoes, powdered dry spices made in step 2 and salt. Cook until the tomatoes soften. Add a few splashes of water to keep the masala from burning.
• Add the mashed vegetables prepared in step 1 and mix very well. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Squeeze the lemon over the bhaji and mix. Garnish with chopped cilantro
• Halve the dinner rolls and spread the remaining some butter on all the halves. Lightly fry them on a heated frypan until they are browned and crisp.
• Serve the pav bhaji on a platter with onions and lemon wedges.

Assembling the pav bhaji

• Slice a dinner roll into two and spread a little butter on both halves. Place the rolls buttered side down on a hot fry pan and remove when slightly browned and crisp. Repeat for all the rolls.
• Take out the bhaji in a deep dish. Sprinkle some lemon juice and mix well. Top with a knob of butter and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
• Arrange two dinner rolls on a plate and spoon out some bhaji. Serve hot.

Notes

1. Pre-made pav bhaji masala is available in Indian stores everywhere. Everest is the best pav bhaji masala brand available and this is the one I use. Two tablespoons of this masala are enough. Buy this if you want to skip making your own masala.
2. If you are making your own masala, all the ingredients are available in an Indian store including fennel, mango powder (amchur), black salt (kala namak) and Kashmiri chilli powder.
3. If you want an authentic taste, use butter and not oil. Butter does wonders for this dish which cooking oil just cannot match up to!

Nutrition

Calories: 280.1kcalCarbohydrates: 24.4gProtein: 4.1gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 7.9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10.6gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 812.5mgFiber: 5.9gSugar: 5.3g

Keyword Indian street food, pav bhaji, vegetable curry, vegetarian recipe

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!